Karla sat on her own by the piano for a while, wondering if she really was about to enter a better world. It could all just be an illusion, but things did seem better lately, a lot better. She didn't feel so alone anymore, or so lost. There was an air of loneliness where she was sitting right now, but not something she had to dwell on, she still the echo of the piano to keep her company anyway.
"Nice."
Karla nearly fell of her piano stool as her silent haven was broken by a voice and the sound of school shoes tapping on wood.
"Ff… Jesus, Blair!" she rose her eyebrows "You could give me some warning, you know." Blair felt bad for a moment
"I'm sorry," she laughed a little before looking serious again. "That was good though; beautiful, mesmerising actually. Well worth a good stalking, I'd say." Karla looked at her questioningly, a slight sinking feel in her chest. Karla still held in her heart a crippling phobia of being judged, something which she might never shake.
"You've been here-"
"All this time!" Blair chirped. "But seriously, that was amazing. Like… I can't believe I've never heard you do that before." There was a lot more she could say, but forming sentences from what she was feeling right now didn't seem like the best idea- she'd only say something wrong after all.
"I… Guess you never asked." Karla told her, not bringing up the fact that there was no way she would've ever agreed to let Blair hear her sing knowingly. There was no particular reason for this she could think of it was just awkward. Awkward and embarrassing and just worrying in a way that had made her feel panicky before, and slightly nauseous at present. "I don't know… I get nervous sometimes. It's not that people will think I'm bad or anything but I guess… I guess I feel like they'd judge me anyway. They'd find something, you know?"
Blair smiled a little, of course she knew. "Wise, if a little cynical." She moved closer, resting an elbow on the piano. "But you should rethink it, in my opinion. I want everyone to hear what I heard. They don't deserve it, but we should give it to them anyway. You're really good, K. Please don't hide it away anymore." She had a sort of pleading look in her eyes that made Karla feel as though it was impossible to deny her.
Karla had performed in her old school before, but no one had ever taken much notice of her. She spent every day wishing they would and she'd been waiting for someone to look at the way Blair did when they heard her sing. No one ever had, and she had taken that to mean that she should confine her talents to her bedroom. It wasn't that anyone ever told her outright that she wasn't good enough, but she had a tendency to sink into the background and her singing was no exception. Like in most instances, people showed little interest and didn't listen.
"You really think so? People never… I mean no one ever really said any of that before."
Blair looked around for somewhere to sit in the large room and at some point seemed to decide that the edge of Karla's lap was the best place. She sat and placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder, grinning. "I really think so."
Neither girl knew what had happened when they started to kiss. The next thing Karla knew, she had foreign hands running through her hair and the taste of apple-berry lip gloss on her tongue. Blair considered regretting the current situation, but decided to do it later. Karla's lip was soft on hers and she was allowing her tongue to tease at her own. It was… nice. Like sighing, or running late at night along a river.
It difficult to describe what the girls were feeling at that moment, because it wasn't just a kind of happiness. When two people who have spent their lives being lonely feel loved for the first time there's a sort of elevated version of relief that goes through you. But it's strange, unfamiliar. Not scary, but exhilarating like driving a car for the first time or the first time you ever walk to school by yourself. It's a step, a step in your lifetime that you knew was coming but never really expected. And it's there because it has to be and because it's beautiful and because, believe it or not, you wanted it and you've been waiting for it. These girls don't have to wait anymore. Now they can move on together. If you're smart, you'll have figured out that that's a big deal for both of them.